CXO of the Year

Champions of the C-Suite

By Utah Business editors

June 5, 2014

It takes a team to lead a company.

Behind every successful CEO you’ll find a team of executives who are crucial to keep a business running. They oversee day-to-day operations. They manage the flow of information that allows a 21st century business to function. They keep the all-important finances in order. They handle branding, legal matters, product development, marketing and whatever else it takes to make a business thrive.

The first-ever Utah Business CXO of the Year awards honor 11 business leaders who drive the gears and cogs of their companies, driving the engine of Utah’s economy.

Chief Financial Officers

Wynn K. Clayton

Chief Financial Officer

3form

Wynn Clayton understands there’s a high degree of correlation between hard work and luck. That’s why it’s no coincidence that through hard work, Clayton has helped his company, 3form, find serious fortune.

“We started 3form 12 years ago with almost nothing, and we ended our first year with a revenue of $1.6 million,” he says. “We ended last year with $105 million in revenue and $19 million in profit.”

And that’s not all the luck the company has seen. Clayton has also been integral in helping the company grow from a few sales representatives to 90 full-time sales reps across the nation. 3form also recently purchased a small lighting company in Seattle and is in the process of building out a sales channel and product line.

For Clayton, building the business and the team around him has been very satisfying. “The 3form family has grown and developed into a nationally recognized brand and power within the architectural and design community,” he says. “As a team we have continued growing our entrepreneurial culture.”

Greg Woodward

Chief Financial Officer

Pluralsight

As CFO of Pluralsight, Greg Woodward makes decisions and drives projects that have a direct bearing on whether or not the company succeeds. That opportunity is what Woodward finds most satisfying about his role.

“It’s incredible to be a part of that process and see projects come to fruition,” he says. “I have helped to guide Pluralsight through multiple acquisitions, positioning the company for continued growth and quickly establishing the company as the dominant market leader for professional technology training.”

Under Woodward’s leadership, Pluralsight has sustained triple-digit growth both in revenue and employees. This dramatic growth has allowed the company to make highly strategic acquisitions in an extremely short time frame. “From July 2013 to February of this year, I have overseen and driven four acquisitions with a combined transaction value in excess of $70 million,” Woodward says.

The company’s growth has been very rewarding for Woodward, specifically because of what it brings to the community. “It’s exciting to be part of a company that is serving as a career catalyst for those in need of sharpening their professional technology and creative skills,” he says. “Knowing that Pluralsight is adding value to local tech companies is extremely gratifying.”

Chief Operating Officers

Brian Bowers

Chief Operating Officer

MityLite

The results of Brian Bowers’ efforts speak for themselves: Under his leadership as chief operating officer, MityLite increased its productivity by more than 100 percent while reducing labor costs from nearly 14 percent of sales to about 4 percent. Additionally, factory order completion, shipping accuracy and on-time delivery have all improved from about 65 percent to more than 99 percent.

Those improvements have enabled the company to re-shore some of its manufacturing from Asia to Orem. They also represent a big turnaround from the recession. “After the recession, it was difficult for our industry and our company; our year-over-year sales fell almost 40 percent and we had to let go of 30 percent of our workforce,” says Bowers. “It was just terrible, it was an awful situation.”

Bowers oversees two factories, three distribution facilities, logistics, engineering and supply chain. With about 200 employees under his wing, he says his greatest satisfaction comes from helping them succeed. “It’s a satisfaction that comes probably from my upbringing on a farm, where at the end of the year, you’re in the harvest, you see what you’ve done, you see what you’ve produced, and there’s something very satisfying about that.”